No abstract

The north‐central United States harvests over 160 million acres of corn, wheat, soybean, and grain sorghum annually as grain or silage. Enhanced‐efficiency fertilizer use in this region may help increase economic returns and reduce negative environmental risks. The objective of this paper is to summarize research in the north‐central US with a focus on management of new technology and fertilizer products such as polymer‐coated urea (PCU) that improve nutrient‐use efficiency. Preplant applications of PCU had median corn grain yields similar to anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate, urea + NBPT, and grain yields greater than urea or urea ammonium nitrate. Research indicates that poorly‐drained soils subject to denitrification and soils with leaching potential may benefit greatest from enhanced‐efficiency fertilizers. Early applications of PCU are needed in wheat. Median wheat grain yield increase over urea was similar for PCU, urea + NBPT, and ammonium nitrate. Medium and high yield environments had the most consistent grain yield responses while variable crop performance with PCU has been related to dry conditions, no‐till production systems, and fertilizer placement. Crop production systems, individual management decisions, economic returns, and availability of government cost‐share will affect the utility and adoption of enhanced‐efficiency fertilizers in this region.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract